By the end of this letter, you will understand why size and shape change how a cigar behaves, why the same blend can feel refined in one format and unbalanced in another, and how to choose the right vitola for the moment rather than by habit.

Vitolas are often treated as preference.
Robusto or Toro. Churchill or Lancero.

In reality, vitolas exist because shape governs combustion, balance, and time.

Once you understand that, size stops being a simple label and becomes a conscious decision.

All cigars fall into two structural families:

Parejos - straight-sided cigars
Figurados - cigars with tapering or bulbous shapes

Everything that follows is an expression of how these two families manage heat, airflow, and proportion.

We will analyse them by length and ring gauge as shown below.

The benchmark

Why it exists:
To deliver a full expression of a blend in a realistic time window.

What it teaches:
This is often the most honest way to assess a blend’s balance.

The modern favourite

Why it exists:
An evolution of the Robusto for longer sessions and modern pacing.

What it teaches:
More tobacco mass softens edges and widens the flavour profile.

The amplifier

Why it exists:
To emphasise richness and reduce sharpness.

What it teaches:
Size can smooth flavour - but also dilute definition.

The long form

Why it exists:
Designed for conversation, not efficiency.

What it teaches:
Length creates narrative, not power.

The traditional lens

Why it exists:
A pre–ring gauge expansion standard.

What it teaches:
Thin formats expose flaws - and quality.

The compressed experience

Why it exists:
Modern time constraints.

What it teaches:
Short does not mean simple - only less forgiving.

The truth-teller

Why it exists:
To showcase exceptional wrapper tobacco.

What it teaches:
Wrapper quality is either revealed - or punished.

The blade

Why it exists:
Efficiency and precision.

What it teaches:
Heat edits flavour aggressively.

The focused delivery

Why it exists:
To control smoke delivery and sharpen the opening.

What it teaches:
Airflow geometry changes perception before flavour changes.

The staged performance

Why it exists:
To create progression through changing combustion zones.

What it teaches:
Shape can choreograph flavour.

The gradual reveal

Why it exists:
To showcase filler first, wrapper later.

What it teaches:
Order of combustion matters.

The outlier

Why it exists:
Originally for economical distribution, now ceremonial.

What it teaches:
Not all vitolas are about optimisation.

Every vitola changes behaviour through four levers:

Everything else is secondary.

Vitolas are not aesthetic decisions.
They are decisions about cigar behaviour.

Before choosing a cigar, ask yourself these five questions.

30–45 minutes
→ Petit Robusto, Rothschild

45–75 minutes
→ Robusto, Corona, Torpedo

75–120 minutes
→ Toro, Churchill, Pyramid

2+ hours
→ Churchill, Lancero, Perfecto

Consistency
→ Parejos

Progression
→ Figurados

Evaluating a blend
→ Robusto, Corona

Relaxing into it
→ Toro, Churchill

Open
→ Parejos

Focused
→ Torpedo, Belicoso

Low attention
→ Robusto, Toro, Gordo

High attention
→ Corona, Lancero, Figurados

Parejos favour stability.
Figurados introduce variation.

Choose the vitola that matches the intent.

Remember, a cigar vitola does not change its blend.
It changes how that blend is allowed to behave.

When you understand vitolas this way, smoking stops being repetitive and becomes more deliberate.

Thank you for reading.

If there is one thing worth taking from this letter, it is this: vitolas exist because shape governs behaviour. The same leaf, guided differently by heat and time, delivers a different experience.

The next time you reach for a cigar, choose the format with as much care as the blend.

That choice will shape the smoke.

Until the next letter.

Yours truly,

Cigar Letters